Riddle Me This
by ToTrulyBe
Summary: "Well, riddle me this, Malfoy! Why the hell did we become friends if you just wanted more?" Rose cried. "I'm just another hit for you, aren't I?"
1. Chapter 1

The Hogwarts corridors after curfew were spooky; no animated conversations amongst the many students wandering the halls, no teachers making sure everybody was staying in line, no sunlight streaming through the wide, arched, windows. Instead, there was complete darkness, every step taken emphasized by the utter silence, and, since the moon had completed it's cycle, there wasn't even the slightest sliver of moonlight to guide Rose Weasley about the chamber.

Rose was scared out of her wits. Never before had she broken a major school rule- of course she had a few minor infractions on her record, such as throwing a pencil at Albus during muggle studies and talking to friends during class, but she hadn't ever entirely ignored regulations. Her black shoes tapped far too loudly with each long stride she took. It had been 15 minutes since she had left her little homework nook- it was out of sight to everything, and Rose doubted even the teachers knew about it. She often went there to do homework or be apart from her large group of family and her few close friends. It was there that she had dozed off tonight, and now, with the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room in sight, Rose began to quicken her pace, arriving there in seconds.

The entrance to Ravenclaw Tower was not a portrait hole, exactly, but an elaborately decorated tapestry, with an entryway behind it that would open only with the answer of a riddle. Rose pattered over to it and glanced around nervously as the swirls running across the tapestry shaped themselves into beautiful, lightly glowing cursive.

_If you break me_  
><em>I do not stop working,<em>  
><em>If you touch me<em>  
><em>I may be snared,<em>  
><em>If you lose me<em>  
><em>Nothing will matter<em>

Rose tugged a strand of her auburn hair as she thought long and hard about what it was asking. She was just thinking that she might walk away, find a place to hide nearby for a little while, and wait to come back for another riddle. But as soon as she turned her back, the answer popped into Rose's mind straight away.

Whipping back around, her head followed by a rush of curls, the girl stated with confidence, "My heart." The letters slowly drifted apart and back to their original pattern, and when Rose heard the quiet sliding of stone behind it, she threw the fabric back and rushed inside, sighing in relief at not being caught. All she wanted to do now was trudge up the stairs to the dormitories and collapse in bed. The grandfather clock by the fire told her it was nearly midnight, far too late in Rose's opinion.

As she stifled a yawn and dragged her feet past one of the lush, velvet couches, Rose noticed something strange. The fireplace was still lit- dimly, but enough to illuminate the area up to the nearest sofa. Most of the time the house prefects were sure to put it out after everybody was upstairs, so why would they have neglected it tonight? Rose was unable to resist her curiosity and peered over the couch, discovering a figure hunched over, head in hands. She recognized the boy, though she had never really spoken to him.

It was Scorpius Malfoy, a fellow 6th year. Her father had warned her to stay away from him when she was a first year, due to their family issues, but hadn't entirely listened. Rose didn't purposely stay away from Scorpius, they just never really interacted, and she found that she didn't mind- in fact, it made her quite relieved. She wasn't disobeying her father, but she also wasn't allowing what had happened in the past become a hindrance in her life.

"Hey... Malfoy?" Rose inquired, sitting on the arm of the sofa and gently placing her hand on his back. He jolted upright, his startlingly grey eyes widening as he did so. Malfoy brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes and leaned back instead, once he recognized Rose as a student, not an attacker.

"Hey..." He murmured. "You're Rose, correct? Rose Weasley?"

"That's me." Rose told him with a smile, slipping off of the arm and gently lowering herself onto the couch next to him. "Why are you up so late?"

Scorpius's face fell, and it was only then that Rose realized just how red his eyes were. The whites of his eyes were completely pink and red, and they wouldn't be that bloodshot simply because one stayed up until midnight. As he lowered his head back to rest in his opened palms, Scorpius said, "It's complicated."

"I'm listening."

Though he appeared hesitant, the fair-haired boy opened his mouth and began to speak. "My mother has been diagnosed with cancer... It's a disease that's so far incurable by both Muggle and Wizard healers. I got an owl today about it... she's going to see a Muggle doctor tomorrow, and a healer the next week. So far, Muggle doctors have actually made more advanced steps towards fixing these kinds of diseases. But you know, she's my mum..."

Rose hadn't noticed exactly when it happened, but at some point one arm had wrapped around Scorpius, the other, gently rubbing up and down his nearest arm.

"You can cry, you know."

"I don't cry in front of people."

Rose gave a reassuring smile. "I'm not 'people'. I'm just Rose. And I won't tell."

Scorpius locked eyes with her for a few seconds before the tears he had been holding back overflowed. He turned his head away, refusing to look her in the eyes again, all the while focusing on her slender arms around him.

* * *

>The grandfather clock tolled five times, gently waking Scorpius from his slumber. He kept his eyes closed, confused at why he was awoken by the clock- one could scarcely hear it from the dormitories.<p>"That's right..." Scorpius thought to himself, "I must have fallen asleep after I came down last night." He decided that he could probably go upstairs and fall asleep in his own bed for a while longer, and opened his eyes, shocked at what he found.<p>

He had fallen asleep upright, leaned against what he had assumed was the side of the couch. But now, looking down, he realized that his head had been resting upon an auburn nest of curls, belonging to none other than Rose Weasley, a girl to whom he scarcely spoke. Scorpius couldn't help but notice how pretty she was, even while sleeping, and gently attempted to get up without disturbing her.

Scorpius was unsuccessful.

As soon as he had lifted his body from his seat Rose's body slipped to the side, startling her awake. She glanced about frantically, before noticing Scorpius before her.

"Good morning..." Rose said, stretching her arms out in front of her. "What time is it?"

Scorpius was, as it was commonly known, fairly shy. He had several close friends with whom he was truly himself, including Albus, but with virtually all other's (mostly females), he was dreadfully shy.

That's not to say girls didn't find him attractive- they were always gushing over him.

"Um... it's just past five..." He said a near whisper, glancing at his shoes.

"Alright." She stood and brushed her skirt down. "Maybe I'll get another hour or so of sleep before going down for breakfast. So I guess I'll see you around?"

"Sure."

"Alright." Rose smiled, looking up at the tall boy and grabbing his hands. "I really am sorry to hear about your mother." And with that, she left for the girl's dormitory.

Scorpius was rooted to the spot and he could feel his cheeks turning pink.

"Bloody hell..."

**So, how was it? This story is rated T for a reason, so just be wary of that in coming chapters. Please don't favourite or subscribe without reviewing! I'll try to have the next chapter up after end-of-term exams! Also, check out my ongoing story, "Rose's Week of Woes"! Thanks for reading!**  
><strong>Truly Yours,<strong>  
><em>ToTrulyBe<em>


	2. Chapter 2

Scorpius couldn't sleep any more after that; he was busy thinking. He had tried to push his mother's ailment out of his mind and was now focused on the girl known as Rose Weasley. She had seen him weaker than anybody else, save his parents, ever had. He was the only girl he had ever felt natural speaking to.

* * *

>A few days later, the two had still maintained a friendly relationship, and were well on their way to becoming very close.<p>He had just finished his breakfast of toast and jam, and was now headed towards the Divination classroom. How he loathed the subject... it was only made tolerable by the fact that they had it with the Gryffindors, and he could speak with Albus all he pleased. Although there were three chairs per table, he and Al usually sat by themselves, as there was plenty of room to spread out.<p>

Scorpius was early today- there were perhaps five other students in there, all female, talking extremely loudly. He sighed and sat clear on the other side of the room, gently dropping his bookbag to the floor beside him. His eyelids fell over his tired gray eyes, being soothed while he remained conscious.

"Hey," Came what had now become familiar female voice. "Mind if I sit here?"

He knew it was Rose. Too tired to open his eyes, he simply nodded and listened as the chair closest to him slid across the floor. When he heard the sound of a quill scratching at parchment, Scorpius straightened up and snapped out of his reverie.

"What are you writing?"

"Faking my dream log." She responded simply, continuing to write in her smooth and flowing manuscript that appeared cursive at first glance.

Scorpius laughed. "And you call yourself a Ravenclaw."

"Don't tell me you've actually done yours for last night?" Rose said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Of course not. I didn't dream last night."

"Well why do you think I'm faking mine?"

"If the Professor asks, all I'm saying is that I didn't dream."

Rose smiled and shook her head, before collapsing in giggles. "Now, Scorpius, you clearly are not one of the gifted few who can see into the beyond."

"Clearly."

"Rosie?"

Both teenagers whipped their heads around and saw Albus, looking inquisitively at the pair with his deep, brown eyes. "I didn't know you two were acquainted."

"We are now." Rose offered a simple response before turning back to her log, nearly finished at this point. She filled the last box in and dotted the end of her sentence with extra force, setting her quill down with a sigh after doing so.

Albus had taken the seat next to Rose, so she was now between Scorpius and Al. They began talking about Quidditch. Rose zoned out- she understood the rules and went to all the games, even had a favorite team, but she wasn't particularly in the mood to listen.

The moderately crazy professor entered the classroom, stumbling over her own feet as she reached the front and looked out at all the students.

"My young prodigies! Today we shall be taking a break from dream studies," Scorpius smirked at Rose, who had gently slammed her fist onto the table out of frustration from having put effort into her 'dream log.' "We will be studying tea leaves today, seeing as how we have Double classes today!" A groan escaped virtually every student's mouth; they had forgotten that it was Wednesday, which meant Double Potions, Double Divination, and, the better of the three, Double Muggle Studies.

Tea kettles and china cups appeared throughout the room, with a teakettle for each table and a cup for each student. They were instructed to turn the teacup upside down onto the saucer, and then pass it to their left for a friend to interpret. Rose received Al's, Al received Scorpius's, and Scorpius received Rose's.

"Well?" Al asked, peering over at his cup in Rose's delicate hands. "What does mine have?"

"Um..." Rose hummed, flipping through her textbook, "The only thing I see kind of looks like a skeleton. It says, "This implies a feeling of disgust at some information which is told to you and which you are asked not to reveal." Albus snorted.

"Great. Now what does your cup say?" He asked inquisitively, looking to Scorpius.

"It looks kind of like a sun. Symbolizing great happiness, prosperity in love and life, and the beneficial discovery of secrets."

Albus peered into the teacup that had been handed to him by Scorpius. "It looks like a couch... that means... Illness, disturbed nights, and soon emergency. Tough luck, mate. Good thing this Divination crap doesn't mean anything really, huh?"

Scorpius nodded, but his face had paled and Rose looked over, worried. He made like he was going to leave, but under the table where nobody could see, Rose grabbed his hand, rooting him in place. He didn't know precisely what was going on, but he knew that he could make it through the class still somehow.

* * *

>After classes that day, Rose and Scorpius went their separate ways. Scorpius went to do some research in the library and Rose puttered off to her secret place.<p>Early her fourth year, Rose had been wandering about the halls and discovered an arch that looked a bit strange. Being a Ravenclaw, she went to check it out and noticed the base was in a slightly different style. If you pushed on the part of the design that was different on either of the bases, the side would slide open just a bit for you to slip in. Inside of the arch was a spiraling staircase that took you to the top of the arch, which plateaued. One may normally feel claustrophobic, but the top was open, with a spell cast to protect it from outside elements. It was her favorite place to sit and be by herself.<p>

Scorpius, meanwhile, was wandering the library, seeing if he could find any information on his mother's disease. He found a couple of books that looked promising, so he went to the librarian to check them out. After doing so, he found himself in the hallway, emotionally readying himself to read them. Picking no arch in particular, he sat it it's base and flipped open one of the old, yellowing, informational texts that he had selected.

**_There are many kinds of cancer, most of which are incurable by both Muggle 'doctors' and even the most advanced Healers that have ever lived. Those afflicted have been known to live within a wide range of time- some will live an average lifespan with experimental treatments, while others may pass within weeks or months._**

He stopped reading there, slamming the book shut and groaning as he leaned his blonde head back. Scorpius heard a faint click, then a sliding sound. Puzzled, he turned and noticed there was an entrance that had opened. He slipped inside and looked about for only a second, before the entry closed behind him, leaving him in complete darkness.

Scorpius grappled around for his wand, finally grasping it and whispering lumos to emit a little light from the end. He noticed the spiral staircase and went up it with adventurous spirit.

He reached the top quickly, and found that it was quite spacious, just enough width for one to lay out, the 'ceiling' high enough to stand without crouching.

Scorpius also found that he wasn't alone.

Sitting on the side opposite him was none other than Rose Weasley, the girl who had only recently danced into his life. But somehow Scorpius felt as though he had know her for years already.

"Rose."

Her head snapped up from it's hunched position over her Potions notes. "Scorpius? What are you doing here? I thought I was the only one who knew this place!"

"Stumbled upon it just now. Pretty cool, no?"

"Yes..." Rose said absentmindedly. She then went back to the notes- tomorrow they had to prepare a long and complicated concoction Potions was her worst subject, and she was determined not to fail.

"Need help?" Scorpius offered, sliding down next to her.

Her mouth gaped open. "You understand this?"

"Potions is my best," Scorpius stated smugly, smirking at her and gaining a punch on the arm as he did so.

"Just shut up and help me."

Scorpius took a deep breath in, and exhaled quickly before beginning his sentence. "Well, what is it you're having trouble with?"

"I don't know! I know all of the information for the elixir and I've read the instructions over and over, but somehow my potions never come out right!"

The blonde sighed and shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure how I can help you with that then... Just be as focused as you can while you're brewing- the results of a potion can sometimes be directly dependent on the state of mind of the brewer."

"Alright... thank you..." Rose went back to pure focus on her papers and tattered potions book.

Scorpius just sat, looking over her with the sense that he was unwanted. "Er... would you prefer it if I left?"

"Do as you wish- I don't mind either way."

He knew that her words weren't meant to be hurtful, and wouldn't be interpreted as hurtful by most. Somehow, though, Scorpius felt his confidence bruise just a bit when she said that.

"Well, I guess I better go. I have work to do as well."

Rose whipped her head up, sending a flurry of curls trailing after it. She looked truthfully into Scorpius's eyes and said, "Honestly, you can stay if you wish. I really don't mind."

Scorpius laughed, his prior feelings melting away. "I'm sure you don't, but I really should be getting to work. Do you have patrols tonight?"

"No, tomorrow," Rose replied. Both her and Scorpius were sixth year prefects, which she had known before they had started talking. They had never had patrol together, and earlier had requested they be partners for that night. "You know that, don't you?"

"Ah, I just forgot what day it was for a moment." Scorpius lied. He really had just meant to make casual conversation, but that had obviously been a complete failure. "Well, see you later, Rose."

"Later, Scorpius."

* * *

>The next day, Rose showed up to potions revved up and completely confident in her abilities to produce a successful Volubilis Potion. After a short lecture on the potions qualities of changing ones voice and being told that, to test the success, they would drink some of a friends potion and see if their voice would change for at least 30 minutes for full credit. Anything exceeding that, but being shorter than 90 minutes (which is the furthest limit without side-effects) would be given extra credit, but very rarely was a student ever able to make one that lasted that long without side-effects. Slughorn would then dispose of any excess potion.<p>Rose was nearly done, as was most of the class. All that was left was the Syrup of Hellebore to add, so she set off for the ingredients counter.<p>

When Rose arrived there, she found that there was no Syrup of Hellebore to be found. She glanced around, seemingly relaxed, but inside she was frantic. If she allowed her potion to heat for too long before adding the syrup, it would be useless.

_Shoot... I don't know too many people in this class... _It was a joint class with Slytherin, but most of the people in her own house had decided to take advanced potions the next year or the previous year. She noticed Scorpius sitting near her, and a vial of liquid sitting off in the corner. Rose hastened, without running, over to Scorp's table and picked up the container.

"Mind if I borrow this?"

He barely glanced up for a split second before going back to stirring. "Be my guest."

"Thank you so much!"

Rose hurried back to her cauldron and mixed in the drops of Hellebore. She sighed in relief when the mixture turned blue. The instructions said to gradually increase heat and stir until the potion turned a 'pleasant yellow.' It would supposedly release sparks when prepared properly.

Several minutes later, the cauldron had reached a fairly high temperature, and Rose was beginning to fear that she had gone about the instructions wrong. She heard a snap from her side; Scorpius's potion had just sparked, but he seemed extremely nonchalant about it.

_Crap... Spark, damn it, spark!_

A few stirs later, a small grouping of red and yellow sparks popped from the center of the brass cauldron.

"Yes!" She cried, turning the burner off below the potion with a flick of her wand. Rose leapt up and hugged the blonde at the adjacent table.

"Nice job, Rose," He congratulated, his voice soft as he hesitantly patted her back in return.

"Thank you! Care for a sample?" Rose offered, ladling some of the potion into a glass. Scorpius did the same, and the pair exchanged the glasses.

"Bottoms up!" They called in unison, lifting the yellow liquids to their mouth and downing a full sip.

Rose spoke first. "Well, did it work?" But it wasn't her voice; it was Scorps.

"I guess so." The well-built blonde now had a feminine tone, and a now elderly Slughorn approached them.

"Well done! Well done!"

That night, after the potion had worn off quite for quite a while, Rose and Scorpius quietly made their rounds together, making idle conversation as they went. They were mostly talking about personal interests and such, seeing as how the sixteen-year-olds had scarcely known each other until recently.

The pair was interrupted by a noise from a dark hallway. They both went to go investigate, but Scorpius stopped Rose.

"I've got it, just wait here." His tone left no room for argument, so Rose obeyed and leaned against the cold stone that made up the majority of the castle.

Suddenly, the dim candles down that corridor went out. Rose felt a wave of panic wash over her, before she came to her senses and grappled for her wand, deep in the pockets of her robes. She finally got a light grip on the thin wood and tugged it free of her pocket, dropping it as she did so.

Just as Rose was about to attempt mental summoning spell to get it, as opposed to crawling around on her hands in knees in the dark, she heard footsteps. She didn't move; rather, she stood extremely still, knowing her prefects badge would mean nothing in the dark.

"Rose? Are you still here?"

Rose exhaled a deep breath she hadn't even known she was holding as she recognized Scorpius's voice. "Good, Scorp. Could you put a light on with your wand or something? I dropped my wand."

"On the contrary, I rather like the dark." His voice sent chills down Rose's spine. It was so familiar, yet there was something there that wasn't quite...

"C'mon, Scor, quit playing around. I want to get some sleep."

She felt his body closer to her. "Not quite yet."

Before Rose could say 'Why the hell not?', she felt herself roughly pushed back against the wall.

"Let's have some fun shall we?"

She felt her lips covered by much more agressive ones, which felt nothing like the way Scorpius usually was- soft, kind, lighthearted. They were so controlling, and as she fought to push his chest away, her hands were caught in Scorpius's and rendered useless. Rose felt her wrists released as cold hands made their way up her shirt, unclasping her bra strap and making their way towards the front-

"Stop it!" Rose cried. She brought her knee up into her attackers' groin, and when she heard him grunt and release her, Rose grappled on the ground for her wand and took off back to Ravenclaw tower, where she cried herself to sleep.

**Oh my... I had some trouble figuring out what to do with this chapter :( Anyways, seeing as how it's end-of-term exams, it would really brighten my dreary day to come home and see some reviews in my inbox! Thank you. By the way, if you were wondering, this is probably about as far into the T rating it will get. Please review and thank you to 22potterfan, sarnia, and FaithTrustAndALittlePixieDust who reviewed the last chapter :)**  
><strong>Truly yours,<strong>  
><em>ToTrulyBe<em>


	3. Chapter 3

Rose woke the next morning with a tearstained face, swollen eyes, and a heavy heart. She had truly believed that her and Scorpius were becoming good friends. Rose had thought that maybe, just maybe, they could become close and maybe even something more eventually.

_"Why... why did he do that? He seemed so kind..._" Rose sighed and dropped her face into her hands. _"I mean... if I hadn't done something, who knows how far he could have gone?"_

She sighed once more, then forced herself out of bed. It was about half an hour until the first class started- just long enough for her to get ready, grab a quick breakfast, and get to class without having to talk to anybody.

_"Hopefully he's left already_" Rose mused, pulling on her shoes and heading for the stairs, being the last one to leave her dormitory. Scorpius had taken to waiting for her in the mornings before breakfast in the common room- perhaps the late time would have already made him depart without her.

As she had hoped, the common room was nearly empty, with only frantic first years rushing about to gather their things. She exhaled in great relief and hastened to grab a bit of toast or a croissant before class.

* * *

><p>Again, there was Divination today. Albus and Scorpius were sitting together at the trios normal table, and beckoned to Rose as she made her entrance. Scorpius was red, and Albus was snickering at him. What they could possibly talking about, Rose had no idea. The bell was seconds away from ringing, so she rushed to the opposite side of the classroom and pulled a seat out next to a boy from Gryffindor, to whom she had never spoken before.<p>

Trelawney, the old bat, never payed real attention to what her students were doing. A charmed paper airplane glided over and landed on top of Rose's textbook. She unfolded it and recognized the neat lettering on the parchment.

**What's up?**

It was from Scor... they had exchanged many notes in the past few weeks, and Rose knew the handwriting as well as her own.

While this might not have been particularly wise, Rose pulled out her wand and muttered incendio. The parchment caught fire and burnt to a crisp on the table top, severely scaring the boy next to her.

Less than five minutes later, yet another landed on the yellowing pages of her book.

**Hey, I'm sorry about last night. Is that what you're mad about?**

_"Is that what I'm mad about? Why the hell is the prat asking? Of course that's what I'm mad about!_" Rose tore the letter to shreds and slammed it onto the table, pushing her seat out and rushing to the trap door with the ladder that would lead her out, muttering a string of curse words as she went.

"Miss Weasley?" She heard Trelawney's raspy voice call after her in confusion, but Rose ignored it entirely. She practically leaped through the trap door, barely using the ladder for two steps before jumping down to the floor.

Rose found a window seat she didn't recognize and sat in it, staring across the grounds as tears streamed down her face.

_"How in Merlin's name could he ask if I was mad about that? I thought he was nice... Sincere..."_

Caught up in her musings, Rose barely heard somebody walking up next to her.

"Rose."

It was Scorpius, of course. His voice sounded so much kinder than it had last night; smooth, worried. How he was capable of such dramatic character changes over the course of one night was beyond Rose.

"Listen Rosie, I'm really sorry about last night, were you okay after?" He sat next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Were you frightened? I tried looking for you afterwards but you had already gone..."

"Was I frightened? What the hell, Malfoy?" Scorpius shivered- she scarcely called him by his last name, and even when she did it was usually in a lighthearted way. "You honestly think I could be okay after what happened? You prat, of course I wasn't okay! Of course I was frightened! I was scared out of my wits! And now you have the nerve to try and talk to me as though nothing happened?"

"Rosie, if you just let me explain, it wouldn't seem so bad-"

"Right, let you explain so you can dig yourself a deeper hole! You're lucky I don't kill you right this second!"

"Rose... don't you think you're blowing this a bit out of proportion?" Scorpius reached for her hand and clasped it in his own.

"Don't you dare touch me." Rose hissed, yanking her arm free and dashing away.

* * *

><p>Later that day, while Scorpius was sitting in a corridor wondering what to do, he was taken aback by Albus<p>

"What did you do to my cousin?"

Scorpius found himself being pulled from his sitting position and into a standing one, as Albus grabbed the front of his shirt and held it in his fist.

"What-"

"Scorpius, we've been friends for years, and I told you when you said you fancied Rose that if you did anything to hurt her, you'd pay. And now she's practically gone mad, and all she said was that it's your fault. So you are going to tell me what you did, and then I'm going to beat you to a pulp."

Scorpius sighed. "Last night, during our rounds, we heard a noise. I went to go check it out, and the lights went out, and I must have walked into something or hit my head because the next thing I remember is waking up and Rose being gone. I don't understand why she's so angry- I didn't leave her on purpose."

Albus shook his head and loosened his grip. "Are you sure that's all that happened?"

Scorpius nodded vehemently. "Of course- unless something else happened while I was gone, or I might have said something wrong?"

"I don't know mate..."

* * *

><p>In potions, a combination of Ravenclaw and Slytherin (so Al wasn't there), Slughorn mentioned something about one of the drafts of potion they had made going missing. He wasn't sure whose it had been, but if anybody knew, that they should tell him immediately.<p>

Neither Rose nor Scorpius were paying much attention. They were both thinking of what to say to the other, wondering what possibly could have gone wrong.

"_Did I say something wrong to her_?" Scorpius was thinking, running his hands through his hair._ "I just told her to wait for me... I don't remember much else that could have upset her..."_

* * *

><p>Rose was sitting on a sofa in the Ravenclaw common room, watching the fire and flipping a log idly with her wand. She was trying desperately to shake any thoughts of Scorpius from her mind. Rose shut her eyes and just listened to the crackling of the fire, as though it could burn her thoughts away.<p>

"Rose, we need to talk."

Scorpius's usually clear silver eyes were clouded over with anger and confusion. He could see that Rose was about to make a break for it, so he reached out and pinned both her shoulders to the couch.

"Don't you dare try running. I just can't imagine what I possibly could have done to make you this upset or angry. I need an answer!" His voice had raised to the point where he was almost yelling. but given their close proximity, Scorpius didn't think it necessary to scream.

Rose frantically glanced about the common room and found it to be empty. She turned her face away from the boy in front of her, not able to bear looking him in the eyes. Scorpius was always so calm around her, but now...

"Don't be a prat, Malfoy! Don't pretend that you don't know about it, because obviously it was your fault!"

"It wasn't my fault! If you just let me finish explaining-"

"Explain what? Your actions speak for themselves."

"Rose, it was accidental! Do you honestly think I would have done that to you on purpose? What kind of person do you think I am?"

"Well, riddle me this, Malfoy! Why the hell did we become friends if you just wanted more?" Rose cried. "I'm just another hit for you, aren't I?"

"Wait, what?"

**I'm sorry if this chapter is confusing and rushed and awful... I had trouble getting my point across clearly. Well, anyways, please leave your reviews! Thank you to everybody who has reviewed/favorited so far! And if you have the time, check out Rose's Week of Woes and my mistletoe oneshot on my profile! Happy Holidays, everybody :)**  
><strong>Truly Yours,<strong>  
><em>ToTrulyBe<em>


	4. Chapter 4

"Wait, what?"

Rose slammed her fists onto the couch and pushed herself up, forcing Scorpius backwards and towards the closest wall.

"What the hell do you mean what? You tried to rape me or who knows what, and you try to pass it off as an accident! I mean... seriously!" She cried, near tears in her rage, but not allowing them to slip down her cheeks.

Scorpius's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "R-rape you? What-"

"I am not done, Malfoy!" Rose raised a finger and held it at eye level with the blonde male. "You try to pretend to be some modest, shy, guy, but I bet you're just a player! You don't just do that with people and attempt to have a normal conversation with them if it doesn't go right! I want answers, and I want them now!"

"Rosie..." He mumbled, pulling her close to him at his own risk and shushing into her hair. He could feel her attempting to wriggle free.

"Rose, I can't imagine trying to hurt you. When you asked if I wanted more, I thought that Albus had told you..."

"Told me what?"

Scorpius pushed her away for just a second, looked into her teary eyes, and kissed her.

And Rose knew, in that single action, that it hadn't been him. It couldn't have been him. Even though she had no idea who it had been, that didn't matter as long as it hadn't been him.

Rose reciprocated whole-heartedly, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him even closer as his arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Only seconds after, she was lowered back down, and a grin erupted on her face.

"It wasn't you."

"Rose, I don't know who it was, but I fully intend to beat the crap out of them when I find them."

Rose laughed. "I'd rather them just get expelled. Thanks for the offer though."

"It's okay, but have fun convincing Albus."

* * *

>Albus, Rose, and Scorpius were sitting together in an inter-house common area. Albus scowled as Scorpius wrapped his arm around Rose, which he retracted immediately.<p>"So how's detention been?" Scorpius asked.<p>

Albus had been suspended for a week, and was now under strict detention and curfew for two weeks. Luke Zabini, the Slytherin who had stolen Scorpius's draft of potion, had been expelled, but only after spending a week in St. Mungo's due to jinxes and close-contact damage.

"Awful." Even as he said this, he continued glaring at Rose and Scorpius, who were now leaning against each other and looking into each other's eyes. "Although I think I'd rather be there than here."

Rose laughed. She had the best boyfriend a girl could ask for, a protective cousin, and a near-traumatic experience. And in spite of everything that had gone wrong, what had gone right was more than worth it.

**I'm sorry for the late update, and for not giving any warning that this story would end. I'm awful at endings! I had something happen in my family, but it's all good now. Please review, and thank you to those who have!****  
><strong>Truly yours,**  
><strong>_ToTrulyBe_


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